Did you know that a giant shipworm measuring 3 to 5 feet long was found in a lagoon somewhere in Mindanao?

It may sound weird but this was what researchers found out when they gathered five giant shipworms in order for them to study it.

Elite Readers reported that it’s actually a type of a saltwater clam, or a rare species of bivalve or mollusk.

It has a hard shell that is made out of calcium carbonate and looks like an elephant’s tusk.

If the creature goes out of its shell, it looks like a slimy worm with a head and a tail with two siphons.

According to the source, “The giant shipworms were discovered vertically planted, head-down in the base of a lagoon in Mindanao, the southern region of the Philippines.”

It continued, “The specimens fed on marine sediment and mud in the area where they were found, a former log storage that gave off an overwhelming stench.”

Regular so-called shipworms were first discovered in the 1700s and were said to sink ships because it has a natural tendency to consume wood.

The giant shipworm, meanwhile, needs an amount of hydrogen sulfide, which is a compound found in human flatulence (fart) and rotten eggs.

The source cited that a special type of bacteria lives on its gills as well. This bacterium is able to burn the hydrogen sulfide in a similar way that humans’ bodies are able to burn sugar and carbohydrates in order to create energy.

Giant shipworms ideally live in mud because it has a high amount of hydrogen sulfide. Apart from that, it has a smaller digestive tract than the regular shipworm due to its “strange diet.”

The researchers were able to bring the five giant shipworms they have found at the University of the Philippines for further studies.

Daniel Diesel, a research professor at the NortheasternUniversity OceanGenomeLegacyCenter director, said, “We really did not know what to expect. Most clams are white or beige or pinkish inside.”

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He continued, “That colour of the animal is sort of shocking. Most bivalves are greyish, tan, pink, brown, light beige colours.”

“This thing just has this gunmetal-black colour. It is much beefier, more muscular than any other bivalve I had ever seen,” he said in an interview.

Margo Haygood, a medicinal chemistry research professor of University of Utah College of Pharmacy, claimed, “We turned the pipes upright and filled them with seawater and airstones and put the animals in to acclimate.”

“Before long, I looked into the pipe and could see a strong jet of water coming out of the animal’s siphon. It was alive! The animal inside is dark gray, shiny and floppy. It looks like an alien creature,” she exclaimed.

Scientists and scholars were excited when they stumbled upon the discovery. In fact, Diesel said, “To me it was almost like finding a dinosaur – something that was pretty much only known by fossils.”

The exact location where the giant shipworms were found was not disclosed to the media. This was to ensure that shell collectors wouldn’t be able to “disturb the site.”

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See the footage here:

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